Hopes and Dreams
by DalektableOswin
Summary: Clara Oswald had a crush. A crush on an alien? She shook her head, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. What was she saying? She couldn't have a 'crush' on him. He was a marvellous Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey and she was just some human girl spread throughout his entire timeline, right from the start.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One – The Most Beautiful**

Clara Oswald had a crush. A crush on an alien? She shook her head, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. What as she saying? She couldn't have a 'crush' on him. He was a marvellous Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey and she was just some human girl spread throughout his entire timeline, right from the start.  
After Hedgewick's World of Wonders, when the Cyberplanner had intentionally told her how 'the Doctor' felt about her, she had been wondering how she really felt about him. And the truth was, Clara Oswald had a crush.  
She looked up at the Doctor, his dark brown hair curling over his forehead. His dark bowtie was slightly crooked, wearing it in only a sense of fashion he could pull off. Clara seemed to notice everything about him; the way he would tinker with the controls of the TARDIS, the way he could unlock doors with a buzz of his sonic screwdriver. Every time danger showed, her heart tightened at the way the Doctor protectively put his arm around her.  
She leaned onto the centre console, staring at the flashing lights and retched leavers. "So, where are we going today, Doctor?" she asked, smiling. She looked up at the Doctor, almost laughing as he screwed up his eyebrows in concentration.  
"We are… going to… if I can make this work, go to the stars!" He pushed down a leaver then looked at Clara, smiling as she had no idea what he was talking about. The TARDIS gave a whirr as it took off and Clara held on to the rail, smiling.  
The TARDIS landed, suddenly going quiet and the Doctor held his sonic screwdriver up in the air.  
"To my knowledge, we are exactly in the centre of the Ternovic galaxy, the second biggest galaxy in the universe."  
"But why, Doctor?" Clara asked, standing on her tippy-toes and putting her arm on his shoulder. "Why are we here?"  
"To show you the stars, of course!" the Doctor said, matter-of-factly. He straightened his bowtie and raked a hand through his perfect hair. "The Ternovic galaxy is the most beautiful galaxy in the universe."  
"Can we see it then?" she asked, now itchy to see what the Doctor called 'beautiful'. He never gave compliments to anyone, not even her, which pained her. Every time she saw him, the strings in her chest tightened and she urged to be close to him; let him hold her.  
"Of course, Clara!" the Doctor yelled and then ran to the door of the TARDIS. Clara followed him, her flowery skirt swirling around her. As the Doctor opened the door and the galaxy came into view, her heart almost stopped.  
Before her, was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The stars were aligned in a spiral-shaped pattern and glistened in the dark matter of space. Red, gold, blue and stars of all colours glowed in the blackness and at the centre of the spiral was a large red star.  
"Wow, it's…it's…"  
"Beautiful?" the Doctor finished for her, staring at Clara directly. Her heart fluttered every time he looked at her in that way. It was like he had almost said she was beautiful. She so desperately wanted it to be true. She needed to know that he liked her back.  
She gazed back to the stars, the intense heat feeling warm on her skin. She wished she could see it up closer, she wished she could-  
She was interrupted as a large blue light came from the corner of her eye. Falling onto the ground, she put a hand in front of her face as the explosion rocked the TARDIS. The Doctor was standing up, his hair billowing in the wind. His face was a mask of pain as the sort-of explosion made him sway back and forth. He held on to the TARDIS's door, retrieving his sonic screwdriver from his pocket. The way his face was enlightened with pain and agony made Clara's chest tighten. What was happening?  
She heard the Doctor say, "Get back into the TARDIS! We have to leave! We're about to be covered by a huge wave of intense star radiation! Get down!"  
Clara covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes then everything went black.

Clara woke when a loud noise hit her ears. She opened her eyes to see herself in the middle of a completely white room. A slight buzzing rocked her eardrums and her eyes were heavy; she struggled to keep her eyes open.  
"Doctor?" she whispered, frightened of where she was. She tried to remember where she was before this, but she couldn't. She couldn't remember a single thing. Where was the Doctor? She got up and noticed a circular table in the corner of the room. Struggling, she dragged herself over to the table and looked down at the familiar pattern on the table. The pattern was made up of glowing red and blue lights.  
Clara felt a certain tug at her memories. She'd seen this pattern before somewhere… A memory sparked in her mind. All the events that had happened before came back to her. The stars, the galaxy and the explosion; she remembered all of the events, but what had happened to the Doctor?  
The glowing red and blue lights suddenly reformed themselves. They moved and stretched until Clara could make out the glowing words the held them. **'Rose'** the glowing words said and then reshaped again, forming the new words of **'Doctor'**. Who was Rose and why did is say the Doctor? What did it all mean?  
The glowing lights then stretched and tensed until another few words were spelt out. Clara peered at the words, trying to make out what they said. They were in a scratchy font that was hard to read, but the more Clara saw of the glowing words, she finally understood what they were. **'I am here'**, the words said.  
Clara jumped as a whoosh sounded behind her. She spun around, her hazel-coloured hair swishing. In the opposite corner, she could see yet another table. She walked forward, closing in for another look at the new object. Curiosity filled her mind.  
On the table was a large book with tattered paper and blank pages. Beside the book was a small, scratchy pencil with a lead tip. Clara picked up the pencil and looked at the old book. Appearing before her eyes, the words 'Write your message here' were suddenly scrawled on the paper as if someone had just written it there. But there was no one around, how could that be? Was she hallucinating?  
Inspired by the sudden message, Clara put the pencil to the paper and wrote. **'This is Clara Oswald.'** She had no idea what else to say so she left it blank. Moments later, a message appeared, lighting up the room in colourful writing. Clara peered at the writing till she could make it out.  
**'This is Rose Tyler.'**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two – Rose?**

The Doctor looked at Clara, worried. The TARDIS door slammed shut at the smoky air entered the machine. He held his breath as he ran to the centre console and switched a leaver up releasing the vent pipes which were to vacuum up the toxic smoke from the near star collapse.  
The TARDIS engaged a whirring sound as the smoke started to ventilate through the pipes of the machine. The Doctor breathed out a ragged gasp, his throat sore from the toxic gas. He looked to Clara, lying on the floor. Her hair was slightly out of place, fanning out on the cold floor. She looked so peaceful, yet the Doctor knew that Clara was seeing something bad, wherever she was.  
He knelt beside her, gently tapping on her left shoulder. "Clara, where are you? What do you see?" She rolled over, facing towards the Doctor, yet her eyes wasn't opened. He didn't want to disturb her in wherever she was. The huge explosion before probably had something to do with it but he couldn't figure out what. A star collapse turns someone unconscious? It just wasn't realistic.  
"Doctor… I can't see you," Clara whispered, frightened. "Where are you? Where am I?" She was scared; the Doctor could hear that much in her voice. Her eyebrows were also turned up slightly.  
"Clara, I'm here, that's all you need to know. You're under my protection, remember that." He put a hand on her head, withdrawing when he realised that she was boiling, as if she was radiating heat. "Clara, think. What do you see?"  
"Doctor… I see… a table… and a book," she replied, her eyebrows curving downwards in concentration.  
"Keep going, Clara, you're doing well," the Doctor prompted, searching for an answer to the mystery. Yet another mystery.  
"The book… it has words on it… a message… to you."  
The Doctor was startled. A message? He didn't expect that. Who would be writing to him? And through Clara? How was that possible? He looked back to her, feeling a pang of worry deep in his chest. He was worried about how they could talk through Clara. Whoever 'they' were.  
"What does the message say?" the Doctor asked.  
"It says… 'Doctor, I know how to get to you again. I've figured it out,'" Clara said in a monotone voice.  
"Who is it? Who is talking to you, Clara?" the Doctor asked, propping Clara up so that she was leaning against the door of the TARDIS. When she didn't answer, the Doctor felt a sliver in his heart. What was happening to her? She suddenly gasped and opened her wide hazel-coloured eyes. The Doctor relaxed, his shoulders sagging. She was alright; Clara Oswald was alright.  
He helped her up with his right hand and stared directly into her eyes. "Clara, who was it? Who was talking to you?"  
"Rose Tyler," she whispered, knowing that the Doctor would have known who Rose was. His eyes widened and he took a step back.  
"But that's impossible… Rose is.." He left his sentence unfinished then went towards the TARDIS's centre console. He put his arms on the cold metal and leant forward.  
"Doctor, who is she?" Clara asked, standing next to him. "Who is Rose?"  
"An old, old friend," he replied and his eyes began to water. It was one of the few times Clara had seen the Doctor actually cry. She then remembered his time at Trenzalore. She knew it would have scared him so much to actually be visiting his own grave. Any of them could have died; she almost had.  
"I'm taking you home, Clara." The Doctor began flicking switches and pressing buttons as the TARDIS roared up and started to flash. His face was a mask of pain and grim; Clara could tell that he was struggling to keep himself from crying. But, who was Rose? Was she a previous companion that the Doctor had travelled with? Clara didn't think she had ever met her…  
"Doctor, I can't leave you here, not like this. You don't have to explain… but I want to help you." Clara looked at the Doctor, her chest fluttering. She put a hand on the Doctor's shoulders and stared him in the eyes. His dark brown eyes glinted in the light and the same-coloured hair curled over his forehead. She looked down at his chest and saw the crooked bowtie at his neck.  
Clara pulled her left hand up and straightened his bowtie. "Doctor, who was she? Who was Rose?"  
The Doctor stepped backwards, making Clara drop her hand from his shoulder. "I can't talk to _you _about Rose," he said, his lip curling. Clara's eyes widened. Was he angry? Why was he angry?  
"Doctor, I didn't mean to upset y-"  
"Just get out! Go away!" he yelled. He closed his eyes and turned around. Clara felt tears burn behind her eyes. He never yelled at her, not ever, not at any time. Why was he yelling at her now? Had she offended him?  
She gritted her teeth and curled her fists. Turning her heel, she headed towards the door. She opened it and exited but before she could make it to the front of her house, she heard a voice. She turned around and saw the Doctor standing in the doorway of the TARDIS.  
"Don't come back, Clara, don't ever come back," he said, his voice thick with tears.  
"Doctor… please…" But it was too late. The TARDIS had left and so had the Doctor. Clara buried her head in her hands and collapsed by the front door. "Please… Doctor… why did you do this to me..?"

(Break/Pause)

The Doctor was upset. He looked up to the top of the TARDIS. The ceiling seemed to go on forever, endlessly. He felt a prod on his back and there she was. The woman herself.  
"Rose…" he whispered as she smiled.

**(Second chapter up and ready to be read. Gah. This was sad to write. :c By the way, this is my first fanfiction so reviews and comments would be good :). Thanks for following and reviewing my first chapter everyone!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – The Plague of the Doctor**

The Doctor stared at Rose. Her blond hair curled around her shoulders and her steady brown eyes staring straight into his.  
"Rose," he whispered. She smiled, her face enlightening with joy and hope. Even though he was now in his 11th generation, the Doctor felt a great deal of love towards Rose. After all, it wasn't every day that he fell in love. He was suddenly reminded on Clara; the way she looked at him with those large brown eyes and the way she would pick up on things he didn't even notice. The Doctor had had many companions in his lifetime, changing all of their lives dramatically. He remembered Donna who had her memory erased of all her time with him and then he remembered Martha, turned into a dalek. Everyone he cared about always had a disastrous ending. It was like a plague; the plague of the Doctor.  
Now, he looked to Rose, feeling the deep compassion he had for her. And she was back now, somehow she was back from the parallel universe in which she was trapped. But where was Meta-Crisis? The Tenth Doctor duplicate that was part Time Lord, part human; a hybrid. Was he here with her? As if reading his thoughts, the Meta-Crisis came out from behind the centre console. His hair was scruffy and his face full of surprise. The Doctor realised that neither Rose nor the Tenth Doctor duplicate knew that he had regenerated again; the eleventh Doctor.  
"Rose," he said again, unable to get enough of her. All he wanted was to push his lips against hers, put his arms around her slender shoulders. But he couldn't. He left her and that was that. He couldn't fix his mistakes.  
"Doctor…" she whispered, staring at him with warm brown eyes. The Doctor had no words to say. He was too astonished by her, by Rose. It had been so long since he had seen her; very, very long. Even though it had been so long, he never would have forgotten her; never in all of his life.  
"You've regenerated… again?" Rose asked, her eyes widening with amazement. The Doctor wondered what condition he would be in. His face was probably streaked with dust from the star collapse- wait? The star collapse? He thought back to the explosion. Was it really an explosion? The timing was too right. A star collapse then Rose just 'magically' appears. Then the Doctor realised: the explosion was related to the fact that Rose was here and not in the parallel universe.  
"How did you…" he started and then stopped. He wasn't usually lost for words but this was Rose. Rose was back; how would he deal with this? So much had changed… but he hadn't stopped loving Rose, even when he met River.  
"The timing was right, Doctor," she said, not saying any more than that. It would be a mystery to him, probably forever.  
"That explosion-"  
"That was us," Rose looked to the Meta-Crisis and put her hand out. The Doctor watched as they held hands. His chest tightened with pain; the pain of two hearts breaking. He knew he shouldn't be after a girl like her, but whatever it was about her just drew him in.  
He left her, but he still loved her and every day without her was a pain to live. Even with his companions, he felt so lonely.  
"Why did you come back, Rose," he said, surprising himself of how cold his voice sounded. Even Rose and the Tenth Doctor were surprised.  
"Doctor, the parallel universe: Pete's World… it's collapsing," she said, softly. "We need help."  
The Doctor frowned. "But if it's collapsing… then doesn't that mean this world-"  
"This universe is different, because of these such differences it means this world doesn't have the potential in order to collapse itself," she said, surprising the Doctor of how much she knew. She was so smart.  
"But how is Pete's World collapsing? How is it getting destroyed?" the Doctor asked, frowning.  
"The daleks… they've found a way to collapse universes."

**(Sorry for the kind-of short chapter, but this one took SO long to write. I had heaps of homework to do and stuff as well. And my golly gosh, if it isn't those pesky daleks again... sigh... it's always the daleks. Thanks guys for reviewing/following/favouriting, I really appreciate it and it help keeps my spirits up! Also, there was a lack of Clara is this chapter, but don't worry, she will be back! Mahahahahahahahahaha!)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four – The Woman in the Shop**

Clara Oswald woke up with a headache. She looked outside; it was still light, but the sun was going down fast. She brushed a hand through her messy hair and rubbing the tears away from her face. The deep pain in her chest was still there from when the Doctor 'kicked' her out. Why would he do such a thing? Why would he hurt her like that?  
But what was really on Clara's mind was who Rose was. She had never seen the Doctor as upset as he had been before, never in all of her lives. Rose must have been very important to him, Clara could see that much. But it still hurt; it hurt so much. She thought she meant more to the Doctor than that.  
Getting out of her bed and clumsily walking towards the door, Clara made her way to the first floor of her boss's house. Seeing Artie and Angie, she walked past them, ignoring their questions, towards the front door.  
Feeling numb inside, she opened the door and entered the cool atmosphere. She had decided what to do. She had questions and needed answers: she needed a Doctor.  
She entered the garage, finding her little red BMW in the port. As she was driving, she thought about the Doctor; the times they had together and the dangers they faced. She remembered their first adventure: the Wi-Fi creatures which uploaded human souls to the internet to feed their 'client'. That was the first time she met the Doctor, well the first time she was aware of it. Then she remembered when the TARDIS was hitched by a magno-grab which caused it to go into a 'broken' phase. The Doctor mentioned something then, about the Dalek asylum and London Victoria, about how she died both times. She knew now why that was possible, but it stilled freaked her out how the Doctor had acted that day; he was so angry. _What are you, eh? A trick? A trap?_ She remembered his accusing words. She wasn't a trick or a trap; she was just Clara. But how could he think about her like that? How could he?  
Clara arrived at her destination, fear suddenly striking her chest. What would she say? What would the woman in the shop say to her? Would she finally explain what the Doctor was to everyone's lives he touched?  
She looked up at the large sign that hung above the shop. It was tattered and was obviously old, but Clara had only visited it a few months ago and inside was relatively new. 'Melody's Computer Service' the sign said in big bold letters. At first, Clara had wondered who Melody was, but now she knew, after she had met her for the second time at the conference call.  
The door was locked as it was now past five o'clock.  
"Oh, come on," she muttered as she held the handle down and pushed against the door. "Hello? Is anyone in there? Melody? River?" Clara frantically searched around for another way in, but there was no other door or entry.  
She heard a sudden whoosh and spun on her heel. Behind her, was River; her arms crossed, an intelligent smirk on her face. Her brown curly hair was worn down and her blue eyes were narrowed.  
"Clara Oswald? To what do I have the pleasure, Impossible Girl?" she said, her lips turning upwards as she did a proper smile this time, though Clara could sense it wasn't as welcoming as she wanted it to be.  
"The Doctor… he's acting very strange," Clara said, frowning. He was acting very strange; Clara had never seen him act like that. Then, Clara explained what had happened before the Doctor had told her to leave and never come back. That part still stung, but Clara now knew that the Doctor didn't mean it; at least she hoped he didn't.  
River was surprised, her delicate eyebrows rising. "Rose? Who's Rose?"  
Clara shrugged. "I thought you would know," she muttered, putting her head in her hands. She didn't know what to do now. The Doctor was probably far away, searching for his next 'Impossible Girl', leaving her stranded. Was this the type of thing the Doctor did? Impact someone's life dramatically then just get up and leave? Clara felt so hurt, her chest aching. She knew it wasn't like a friend abandoned her; the Doctor was more than that to Clara, but she knew he didn't like her in that way. "What do we do now?" Clara asked, miserably.  
River's face lighted up, her smile wide. "We call."  
"Call who?"  
"The Doctor, of course!"  
"The Doctor has a phone? That's a bit too modern for him…" Clara said, feeling that it _was_ too modern for the Doctor. He wore bowties for God's sake.  
"Do you remember the day when you needed help to connect to the Wi-Fi?" River asked.  
"Yes…" Clara frowned, unable to see what that had to do with this.  
"I gave you that phone number… that phone number connected with the Doctor's TARDIS and you were able to talk to him," River explained, her eyes bright like a cats. "Well, I still have his phone number." She winked and all of a sudden, Clara was full of hope. They could call the Doctor? She felt relieved by the idea, but would the Doctor really want to talk to her? After all, he did 'kick' her out. Like a sudden explosion, River's form disintegrated, her body quickly fading. Clara had no idea what had caused her to just disappear like that, but then she saw it.  
A robotic being, which kind of looked like a salt-and-pepper shaker, sat or stood, whatever it did, on the concrete in front of her. Sprouted stalks from its face and from its body, the blue ends glowing, it moved forward, making a sound kind of like a small motorbike. Clara didn't know where it came from, but it scared her.  
Clara spotted something on the ground; a small white paper with a few numbers on it. Quickly, she dialled the numbers, knowing it was the Doctor's number that River had left behind. Obviously, she meant for Clara to call him. Quickly, perhaps.  
Her phone started to dial, but it was too late. The robotic being had come to a stop in front of her, its stalk-arm thing pointing towards her chest.  
"Clara Oswald, you will come with us! You should not exist! You are impossible!"

The Doctor stared at Rose. "_Daleks? _Are you serious? Why is it always the daleks?" He put a hand on his head, frowning. His bowtie was suddenly tight around his neck. The daleks didn't know about him, he silently thanked Oswin, the girl who had erased all of the daleks memories of him by hacking into the path web. The daleks weren't after him; they were after the world, of course.  
"Doctor, you have to help us," Rose pleaded, her brown, hazy eyes staring up at him. He straightened his bowtie and raked a hand through his hair.  
"I will, but I need to apologize for something first," the Doctor said and then pranced around the centre console, flicking switches and leavers. Rose followed him.  
"So you still went on without me? With different people?" Rose asked, her voice firm. The Doctor winced; that hurt. He knew she would be upset once she found out what he had been doing since she was gone. He had never gotten over her but he had found company in many other people. He suddenly thought of River. What would Rose think of him then?  
"Rose," he stared at her as the TARDIS began to take off. "I just need to do this one thing. I hurt someone I care about and that's not acceptable."  
"You hurt _me_, Doctor," she replied, gazing down at her feet. "When you cursed me to Pete's World to take care of Daniel-"  
"Daniel?"  
"That is what the Meta-Crisis Doctor decided to call himself," Rose explained, looking back at… Daniel. "Anyway, when you cursed me to Pete's World, I was heart-broken, still in love with you... why was that acceptable, Doctor, but not this?"  
"Rose… I can't answer that… you know I can't…" the Doctor said, his face pained. He felt the TARDIS land and he walked outside of it, eager for a way to get out of his sticky situation.  
They were at Clara's house, well at least where she lived. The Doctor heard Rose and Daniel come out from behind him, gazing at the house. He knew they were wondering who could possibly be this important to the Doctor.  
The Doctor charged into Clara's house. "Clara? Clara? Where are you?" he shouted, noticing the astounded Artie and Angie by the kitchen table.  
"Hi Clara's boyfriend!" Artie said and wanted to say more but his sister gave him a stern look. Beside him, Rose raised an eyebrow as if to say '_boyfriend?_'.  
"You were looking for Clara right? When she came back she seemed very upset… did you say something to upset her?"  
"Where is she now, Angie?" the Doctor asked, raising his screwdriver in the air.  
"I don't know… she went out… somewhere…" Angie shrugged then looked back down at her phone.  
The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows in frustration and went back outside, with a floundered Daniel and a confused Rose following him.  
"Who's Clara?" Rose asked, Daniel nodding beside her. The Doctor looked back at them.  
"I don't have time to ex-" Just as he was about to make up some lazy excuse about how he couldn't explain who Clara was, the phone from the TARDIS began to ring.  
"That's not supposed to happen… who would be ringing me at this hour?" he said, although it was only six o'clock. He ran to the blue box and opened the phone slot. The black phone was vibrating against its holder. He picked it up and held it up to his ear.  
"Hello?" He heard breathing on the other line, then a voice.  
"Doctor..?" It was Clara.  
"Clara! Where are you? Are you safe?"  
"Doctor!" Her voice was a shout this time. Several screams followed as a thud sounded as the phone on the other end had been dropped.  
"Clara? Where are you?" the Doctor yelled and froze at the voice he heard at the other end.  
"Clara Oswald has been acquired!" It was a dalek. A dalek had Clara. The Doctor heard a scream at the other end which was abruptly cut off. The daleks had Clara Oswald; what would they do to her?

**(Well, this was fun to write! I was astounded by the idea that the woman mentioned in 'The Bells of Saint John' (S7 E6) who gave Clara the number for the TARDIS was River. Truthfully, I don't think this is right because in 'The name of the Doctor' Clara met River but didn't notice her in any way other than that of the things the Doctor had told her about 'Professor Song'. I like the idea of the battle of the ships [mentioned by ASouffleToServeTwo in a post] so I decided to throw River in the mix :) Hope you enjoy and thanks for all those who have been following/reviewing/favouriting!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five – Explain!**

Rose was confused. Who was this 'Clara Oswald' the Doctor was talking about? Truthfully, she felt broken inside. The Doctor had told her to look after the Meta-Crisis and she did but with a broken heart but now he was moving on from her. In the end, she _had _made Daniel a better person –or hybrid- but she her heard hadn't stopped throbbing over not ever being able to see the Doctor again.  
But now, here she was, standing next to the man she loved. She looked back at Daniel; he looked just like the Tenth Doctor, but it wasn't the same; the bloodthirsty side to him was unlike anything the real Doctor was.  
The Doctor, the real one, put the phone down, his hands slightly shaking. He looked frightened; scared, afraid and anxious. He raked a hand through his hair, looking to Rose.  
"Do you- do you know where the daleks are now?" the Doctor asked, his voice shaking. Rose could tell that he was making a huge effort to keep himself from crying in front of her. This Clara girl probably meant a lot to him.  
"Well, in the parallel universe, we saw them at Bad Wolf Bay but since then we haven't seen a single one," Rose replied, putting a finger to her lip. "The daleks here aren't the same as the daleks in our universe."  
"Oh, but they are," the Doctor said, his eyes darkening. "The daleks have a telepathic web known as the path web. If one dalek knows how to destroy a universe then they all do. The information is transmitted throughout the path web." He remembered how Oswin hacked into it and did a master delete on all the information connected with him. Now they had her again… would they make her into a dalek yet again? He couldn't let that happen.  
"Doctor, who is Clara? What happened to her?" Daniel asked; his voice was gruff. His dark eyes shone under the TARDIS's glow.  
"Clara is my Impossible Girl," the Doctor explained, casting a quick glance at Rose. Once, she had been his impossible girl… he looked down at his feet. "I need to get her back."  
"Why would the daleks go after her, though?" Rose asked.  
The Doctor frowned, wondering how he would explain to her what Clara was and is. "Clara has lived many lives; in one, she was a girl who had been in a shipwreck. She was turned into a dalek and died saving my life. The daleks knew about her and now they've come for her to explain how she lived through it."  
Rose blinked several times. "What do you mean, she lived many lives? How is that possible?"  
"I can't explain right now," he replied, putting a hand to his forehead. "We have to save her."  
"But how?"  
The Doctor's eyes lit up. "I think I have an idea."

Clara Oswald didn't know where she was. She opened her eyes, staring at her surroundings. The room was white like as if it was something from the future; it probably was. Her heart pounded inside her chest. What was going on?  
Her head hurt as she tried to remember what had happened before she got here. She remembered the robotic thing that had said the chilling words '_Clara Oswald, you will come with us! You should not exist! You are impossible!_' What was that thing? An alien, of course, but what was it? Was it an enemy of the Doctor's? What did it mean 'impossible'?  
After waiting for a few hours, Clara heard doors open. She looked behind her and saw the 'salt-and-pepper shaker' with its scratchy voice.  
"Clara Oswald," it said, shaking its 'arms' up and down. "What are you?"  
"What am I?" she echoed.  
"What are you?"  
"I am just a human," she said, hoping whatever it was would understand.  
"Human? How?"  
Clara was confused. "What do you mean?" It made a whirring noise as video footage was projected in front of Clara's face. On the footage, she saw herself; a girl in a short red dress, her eyes fearful. That was her, but she couldn't remember when this had happened.  
In the video, suddenly she was surrounded by those 'salt-and-pepper shakers'. She screamed, yelling 'daleks'. Where they what they were? Those 'salt-and-pepper shakers' were called daleks? In the video, the hologram faded and then it came back, a 'dalek' in view. What did this mean? What had happened to her?  
"You turned into a dalek," the dalek portraying the video said.  
"_What_?" Clara asked, astounded. "I turned into a dalek? I don't think so…"  
"You turned into a dalek, there is no denying!" it screeched. "Explain!" The dalek came closer until it was resting just a few feet away from her. Clara's heart pounded in her chest.  
"Explain! Explain!" the dalek screamed.  
"I don't know what you are talking about!" Clara yelled, squeezing her eyes shut. She covered her ears with her hands to block out the hideous screeching of the dalek.  
"Explain! Explain! Who are you?"  
"Just go away!" Clara cried. She opened her eyes and saw that the dalek was backing away slowly, its eye-stalk dimming. The door slammed shut as the dalek exited and she was left alone. She wished the Doctor was here to save her. He had saved her countless other times; he had saved the world countless times.  
As she wiped away her tears, trying to remain strong, she saw a figure materialise in front of her. As River came into view, Clara realised that she had to hide from the daleks. But why? River was just there because of the conference call that had stayed intact from before Trenzalore. They were somehow connected.  
"River… what was that thing?" Clara asked, her voice scratchy.  
"That was a dalek; an intelligent being of insane power," River explained, staring at Clara with intense cat-like eyes. "Listen, the Doctor will know where you are. The phone call to the TARDIS connected with the Doctor."  
"You mean the Doctor heard me?"  
"Yes." River looked to her right, as if hearing some invisible noise that Clara couldn't hear. "Stay put, he'll be here soon." Clara walked over to the corner and sat down by the wall. She stared at the door and began to wait.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six – Dean who?**

The Doctor was panicking. His hearts were beating rapidly in his chest and his head throbbed. _Please, let Clara be alright_, he thought as Rose, Daniel and he walked out of the TARDIS onto the street. The pathway was dimly lit, but the Doctor could still make out where they were.  
"Where are we, Doctor?" Rose asked, her eyebrows turning down in concentration.  
"I managed to trace the call from Clara's phone to here. But this can't be right…" He turned to look at the sign from above the shop. He stopped, startled when he realised what it said. "Melody…" He raked a hand through his hair, his eyes beginning to water. "River… how is this possible?"  
"What, Doctor? What is it?" Rose asked.  
He ran to the shop's window and looked in the window. It was dark, but he could make out a shadowy silhouette in the store.  
He knocked on the door and yelled, "Hello? Open up! I demand to be let in!" He took out his sonic screwdriver then pressed it to the door. He heard a click as it opened.  
Charging in, he searched for the light so he could see whoever the figure was behind the counter. The light flicked on and he saw the now-visible silhouette. His hair was messy and brown, and his eyes were wide and blue. He looked scared, and for the first time, the Doctor saw a gun in his hands.  
"Oi, don't shoot! Don't shoot! I'm no burglar!" he yelled, raising his hands in the air. "Just put the gun down!" The man narrowed his eyes and slowly put the gun down on the desk. He leant up against the blackboard behind him and raised his eyebrow with a questioning glare.  
"Now what have we here? How did you get in… and why the bloody hell are you wearing a bowtie?" the man asked. His blue eyes weren't frightened anymore; instead a humorous twinge was in its place. "Blimey! Who are you people?"  
"Let's make this quick; I'm the Doctor; an alien who flies about in a police box which just happens to be a time machine." He pointed to Rose. "This is Rose and the Meta- I mean Daniel who are from a parallel universe. That good enough for you?"  
The man was astounded, his eyes wide. "Well that's brilliant! An alien broke into the place I work at? It's my lucky day!" He crossed his arms, his face blank.  
"Listen, who owns this shop?"  
"Haven't the slightest clue," the man said, shrugging. "I work for the manager."  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Well, who's the manager?" He was getting impatient. He needed to know where Clara was and who Melody was. Was she who he thought she was?  
"Aren't you beastly?" He moved a stool over from the other side of the room and sat down, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I'm not saying another word until you tell me who you really are."  
"My name is the Doctor-"  
"Doctor who?"  
"Just the Doctor!" He said, huskily. The Doctor raked a hand through his hair and looked to the man, angrily. "Listen, just tell us, have you seen any strange robotic aliens recently?" He was about to say something else when Rose stepped in front of him.  
"Doctor… let me help with this…" she whispered in his ear. Rose then pulled away and looked to the man, her eyes glistening.  
"Hello, my name's Rose," she said to him.  
"'Ello, I'm Dean," he grumbled, casting his eyes to the floor.  
"Dean who?"  
A small smile tugged at his lips. "Just Dean." He looked to the Doctor who rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, looking to the opposite wall.  
"Well Dean, what do you know about the person who owns this place?" Rose prompted.  
"Hm… I don't really know much about her only that her name is Melody; obviously because of the store name," Dean said, turning to the Doctor. "Listen mate, why do you wanna know all this? Are you some type of nark?"  
"No, not a thief, I am what I said I was," he replied.  
"An alien?" Dean said, his eyebrows turning up in disbelief.  
"Yes, indeed! Finally someone gets it! I am a Time Lord!"  
"Righto… then why are you here? Shouldn't you be, you know, up in space on some other planet?"  
"About that… how long have you been here for?" the Doctor asked. His hearts were racing and he knew that if the man hadn't heard anything about Clara then he was at a dead end and that he would probably never see Clara again; or would he?  
"I don't know… a couple of hours perhaps," Dean said, thinking.  
"Have you noticed any alien activity during that time?"  
"No- wait a second! Come back here you bastard, you!" Dean yelled and the Doctor looked frightened at the man. Was he talking about him? But Dean ran outside the building and the Doctor saw the hooded figure that was gradually running away from the shop. In the backpack of the person were a small electronic wire and the edge of a laptop stuck out the top. The thief must have stolen it when they were talking about Clara.  
The Doctor, Rose and Daniel charged outside, watching Dean and the thief run away. Dean was a very fast runner. The Doctor ran after Dean. After he had ran a few blocks, he saw Rose behind him, slowly catching up, then Daniel behind her, his face flustered.  
He saw Dean follow the figure into an alleyway, his hand almost around the figure's cloak. The Doctor skidded to a halt as they pulled into the alley. Rose breathed heavily next to him and Daniel's eyes were wide on his right.  
"What is that Doctor?" Rose asked, her voice with a hint of fear.  
"I do believe that it's a-" He didn't finish his sentence as something hit him from behind. His vision began to fade and in all his hearts he knew it was never going to be alright again.

**(Yay! :D I have finally finished all of my exams.. yay! I am happy now ;) Also, new character I made up xD He likes slang...)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven – Do I Look Like People?**

Clara opened her eyes, feeling no warmth on her eyelids, but the cold air of the dalek prison. She breathed out a small breath and wrapped her arms around herself. It was getting awfully cold. She looked at the big empty room around her, wishing the Doctor was there to comfort her. But he wasn't- he would never be. She felt her eyes fill with tears. She buried her head in her hands, remembering how the Doctor cast her out because of this 'Rose' character. What was so special about her that he had to cast her out like that?  
The Doctor and herself had had many adventures together; the Rings of Akhaten, Sweetville, the Cybermen and Trenzalore- which she didn't count much as an 'adventure'. She never stopped to think about who else the Doctor would've travelled with before he met her. For over nine hundred years the Doctor had been alive. Nine hundred years travelling space and time. Who knows who he would have met throughout all that time?  
She took her hands away from her face, feeling the salty, wet tears sticking to her cheeks. She couldn't show weakness, not in the face of these robotic salt-and-pepper shakers.  
The door opened and she wiped her tears from her face, putting on her bravest face. Two daleks entered the room, their robotic eye-stalk thingies pointing at her. Their voices were scratchy as they spoke monotone to her.  
"Clara Oswald?"  
"Salt-and-pepper shakers?" she replied with a smirk.  
"Clara Oswald, you will soon be joined by four other prisoners that we have recently captured," they screeched. Though they were robots, Clara could detect a hint of glee behind their voices, like they were secretly happy about capturing five prisoners. Oh, five prisoners! What a haul! She folded her arms, narrowing her eyes.  
"What if I don't want to share my lovely prison with four other people?" said Clara, pursing her lips. "I quite like being alone." She flicked a strand of brown hair over her shoulder.  
"That will not be the case as the four prisoners joining you are not necessarily people," the golden dalek on the left said. Clara frowned. The prisoners weren't people? Were they aliens? She remembered that the Doctor once said something similar.

_"Do I look like people?" the Doctor said, looking intently at her. His eyes shone and he straightened his bowtie. His blue-grey suit was similar to the darkness behind him.  
"Yes," said Clara, firmly. She put her hands on her hips, her blue dress swirling around her._

Was it possible that the daleks meant that the Doctor was one of the prisoners? If so, who were the other three? Could it be possible that the Doctor had found Rose? She rubbed her temples, looking at the ground. The daleks left the room, only to come back a minute later with the four prisoners, black bags over their heads.  
The daleks shoved the four prisoners to the ground then left the room, locking the door behind them. As they exited the door, Clara caught a glimpse of a small device- the Doctor' sonic screwdriver. Her chest immediately lightened at the thought.  
Crawling over towards them, she took the black bag off of the closest one and came face to face with a man. His hazel hair was messily placed and his eyes were closed.  
"Hello?" Clara said, frowning. "Who are you?"  
His eyes opened, revealing electric blue eyes. He narrowed his eyes and sat up, his face red.  
"Oi? Who are you? Is that you?" the man said, his voice husky. "Blimey! The last thing I remember is being bonked on the head by a… I don't even know what that thing was… and now I'm here!" He looked around, running a hand through his tawny hair.  
"Quickly, we have to wake the others," Clara said, pulling the black bags off of the other people's heads. She saw a woman with blond hair and blue eyes, a man with- wait a second, that was the Doctor. Well, the Doctor in his previous regeneration. How was that possible? The tenth Doctor was sitting right there.  
Clara moved along to the final figure and as she took his black bag off, her chest lightened. It was the Doctor. His dark brown haired was scruffy from the bag and she resisted the urge to pat it down. His eyes were closed, a peaceful look on his face. She had never felt happier, even though they were in a sort of dalek prison.  
"Doctor," she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. His eyes started to flutter. "Doctor, it's me Clara, please wake up!" Her voice was firmer this time, and she could feel the tears behind her eyes threatening to fall. The Doctor wasn't waking up.  
She pursed her lips and raised her hand, cracking it across his face. His eyes opened at once.  
"Ow! Clara!" he said, putting a hand to his face. He looked at her with his dark eyes, full of warmth and longing. How she wished that she could gaze into them forever. "Aha! Those bloody daleks!"  
"I call them salt-and-pepper shakers."  
"I call them tricycles with rooves." The Doctor grinned. He reached forward to hug her, but she side-stepped, moving away from him, gazing at the others. She glanced back at him seeing a mask of hurt and pain on his face, then she looked back at the others- the blond haired woman, the… Tenth Doctor and the man who had woken first.  
"Oi, you, Doctor fellow," said the man who had woken first. Clara could almost feel his annoyance in the air. "Did you 'nap me? Where am I?"  
The Doctor's face blanked and he looked up, a new gleam in his eyes. "We are in the dalek's ship, Dean! You should've known that!" He stood up, holding out a hand to the blond woman, helping her up. The other man –the supposedly 'Tenth Doctor'- stood up too, his dark eyes shining.  
"What the hell is a dalek?" Dean yelled, clearly frustrated.  
"Salt-and-pepper shakers," said Clara.  
"Tricycles with rooves," the Doctor said at the exact same time.  
Clara blushed, looking away as the Doctor explained.  
"A dalek is a robotic being who will most certainly kill us if we don't tell that what they want to hear," he said, his smile widening. "Satisfied?"  
Dean blinked a couple times, clearly confused but not enough to admit it to him. "Yep."  
The Doctor smiled, and then raised a hand to his coat. His face slowly turned into a mask of anger as he scowled, flinging his hand out of his pocket and folding his arms. Clara had to resist the urge to laugh. He looked so much like a little kid in that pose.  
"What's wrong?" the blond haired woman said to him, a look of affection in her eyes. Clara looked down at her flowery dress, her heart beating rapidly. Had the blond haired woman fallen for the Doctor too?  
"Those bloody tricycles stole my sonic screwdriver!" he yelled, clenching his fists.

**{Sorry for taking so long! Here is my explanation: Well, I lost my USB which hand the whole of Ch 7 on it so I had to rewrite it all, and THEN my computer did 'the blue screen of death' and shut down on me whilst I was in the middle of writing it again and so I had to write it AGAIN. Yes, that is why. c: I hope you understand. My computer is so annoying. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, favouriting and following as always. It's VERY much appreciated! :P}**


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